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When Louis Smith was a boy, his single mother had to scrape together the
petrol money for the 40-mile round-trip to gym practice each day. Now the
bronze-medal-winning gymnast has ten sponsors, a BMW convertible, a wardrobe
of designer clothes and is in the process of building his own house. But his
mum still does his washing.

Louis, 23, made history on Monday when he and his four team-mates won
Britain’s first gymnastics team bronze for 100 years. His agent said that
the win was beginning to have the same effect on the sport as Britain’s
success in Beijing had

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Hard slog that lifted gymnast on to podium

August 1 2012

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Louis Smith: 'We are not going to win this medal and fade out'

August 1 2012 Alex Grimm/Getty Images

Louis Smith: 'We are not going to win this medal and fade out'

August 1 2012 Alex Grimm/Getty Images

Smiht and his team-mates won Britain’s first gymnastics team bronze for 100 years

August 1 2012 Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

It has taken a million rotations on the pommel to get to bronze-winning standard